Date: 10/16/12 5:39 pm
From: Mark Johnson <mj3151...>
Subject: [MDBirding] Interesting White-crowned Sparrow, Swan Harbor, Harford Co.


Hi all,

I just photographed (only one shot) a White-crowned Sparrow that I'd like to get some opinions on, regarding age and subspecies. It's a very dark looking bird-the head stripes are gray where an adult eastern's would be white, and the back and tail are very dark, more gray leaning towards black, rather than brown, like the several others that I saw keeping company with this one. The dark head stripes are more dark brown than black, and definitely not the bright reddish-brown of a first fall/winter juvenile bird. Here's a link to the photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27381338@N03/8095453858/in/photostream . The photo's color and lighting are as taken, no tweaking at all, only cropped. I'm not sure I'd recognize a Gambel's if I saw one, and any kind of intermediate would throw me too, so I'm curious what others think about this guy.

Mark Johnson2
Aberdeen

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